Opinion: Catholic schools add diversity and choice

Recent narratives in the public realm suggest that amalgamating all schooling in Alberta into one system could create or lead to efficiencies not found in Alberta’s current education system.

These comments often dismiss the role of choice, parental rights, and the stellar results that Alberta’s public education system produces under its current structure, and attempt to use the language of efficiency to thinly veil contempt for religious rights and Catholicism.

The following points are some important reality checks to correct ongoing misrepresentations or misinformation about our education system:

There is no definitive study or proof that confirms one school system would save money. In fact, the opposite is true. Bureaucracy doubled and costs to run regions tripled in Ontario following large-scale regionalization and amalgamation experiments. Newfoundland and Quebec have realized increased costs rather than savings with the realignment of their schools.

Alberta’s students are currently funded by a per-student grant that follows the child, meaning that all students are funded the same. Even with amalgamation, the same amount of money would be needed to fund schools with the same number of buildings, administrators, teachers, buses, custodians, computers, textbooks, et cetera. Precisely where the savings under an amalgamated model would be found remain unclear.

Reducing our education system to calculations about “efficiency” is directly contrary to the purpose and vocation of education. Students are not widgets and schools are not factories. When talking about education, people are not “products” but are human beings and we should fund and care for them accordingly. Responsible can be equated to responsive; giving parents choice and allowing them to align their child’s education to expectations and needs can significantly raise satisfaction levels of parents and partnership in education.

Evidence based on funding and academic achievement indicates that Catholic schools in Alberta educate on average for less money per student than their public counterparts and generally receive high achievement results in standardized testing. Despite the popular narrative of savings through efficiencies and “bigger is better,” which seems to be a societal mantra, bigger can be more bureaucratic, inefficient, and can erode local decision-making. Separate schools have always had to be efficient and responsible in their allocation of education funding and historically they were funded less.

Where it is feasible and it creates responsible use of resources, the Alberta Catholic School Trustees’ Association fully agrees that opportunities for efficiencies should be explored. Sharing exists already between public, francophone and Catholic schools in areas including transportation, financial services, information technology services, purchasing consortiums, special needs services, et cetera.

As Catholic schools, we strive to always demonstrate responsible spending and provide services as effectively as possible as we come under far more scrutiny than public schools and we embrace this by being as transparent and engaged with our communities as possible.

Canada is a country built on respecting differences and practising a form of plurality not often found in the rest of the world. The ability to work and co-operate with people who have different beliefs, values, and cultures is renowned. The attitude of those who wish to create a single monolithic school system of secular values is the opposite of the plurality that Albertans and Canadians hold as vital to our identities.

If anything, Alberta’s education system is a living example of a modern pluralistic society embodying choice and diversity with incredible results. International rankings consistently demonstrate that Alberta is an education leader in all indicators.

We believe that educational choice, parental involvement in their schools, and diversity of forms, public, separate, francophone, charter, independent and home schooling, enables parents to provide their children with an education consistent with values, beliefs and choice they wish to instil in their children.

Serena Shaw is president of the Alberta Catholic School Trustees’ Association.

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